Wrapping her arm around his back, she found that his leather armor was now dry. She pondered this as they walked. Had he not been wet, that flame might very well have cooked him. “You had your men soak their leathers before coming down this morning.”
Patrick gave her a considering look before answering. “Wet leather is the last line of defense when dealing with a dragon.” He sighed before going on. “Although, facing off with a dragon with anything can be folly if his fire is hot enough.”
Kathryn shook her head. “Yet you went out with just a shield.”
Patrick shrugged. “I had my smoke packs.”
“Those were impressive, but they didn’t kill it.”
“I would rather not kill him if I didn’t have to.”
This statement made Kathryn stop, jarring Patrick to a halt. “What?” she snapped indignantly. After the dragon had killed so many, the lord didn’t want to destroy the thing? Kathryn nearly dropped the man where they stood.
Patrick groaned in pain and raised his hand up to his head. “I wanted to give him the chance to surrender,” he explained. “Rouge dragons are hard to take down.”
Kathryn stared at him openmouthed. She couldn’t believe her ears. He spoke as if he had fought with dragons before.
Pulling on her, Patrick tried to get her moving again.
Taking him in her arms again, she helped him to his men. He wasn’t looking very good at all. “Can you kill this thing?” she asked.
“Yes.” Patrick sounded confident. “We will stop this dragon.”
Kathryn mentally tacked the words ‘or die trying’ on the end for him.
The line of men now stood loose as they watched her approach with their leader.
“Douglas. Mathew.” Patrick tried to yell, but it ended on more of a whimper.
Two men stepped forward.
His voice was quieter as he went on. “Go back to the castle and change. Head out to the scouts and call any that aren’t chasing the dragon home. It went south. Send a few to search that way in case any of our men ran into trouble. And stay out of sight. Remember, we are scouting, not confronting.”
The two men clasped their fists to their chests and bowed before taking off towards the castle.
Patrick stood up away from Kathryn, but he still wobbled on his feet and was a little pale. Kathryn was reluctant to let the poor man go. He was still looking mighty shaken.
“Daniel.” Patrick looked around for his friend.
Kathryn looked around and found the man coming towards them. He had just finished sending Patrick’s damaged shield off with a group of men heading towards the castle.
“I’ve picked five to remain in the village in case the dragon comes back,” Daniel informed them.
Patrick gave him a shallow nod. “If he feels anything like I do, I don’t think he’ll be back today.”
Both Daniel and Kathryn reached out to grab Patrick as he wobbled on his feet again.
“Shouldn’t they change out of their wet leathers?” Kathryn asked, concerned for the men. They would catch a terrible chill if they remained soaking wet.
Patrick tried to shake his head, but stopped. The color in his face went a little green, and he swallowed hard before he spoke. “It’s best if they remain ready in case it does.”
Daniel pulled Patrick’s arm over his shoulder, taking his weight. “I think we should get you back so you can rest.” He turned slightly to look at Kathryn. “We have turned your dragon and will continue to hunt it.”
Kathryn gave him a slow, acknowledging nod.
“You are safe now, My Lady.” With that, Daniel turned and half-dragged Patrick’s stumbling form back to the castle.
“He did it,” Eustace said as he stepped up next to Kathryn and watched the men stagger away.
“Yes,” she answered him, deep in thought. He did turn the dragon today, but how was he going to defeat it?
“I think this new lord may be worth the tithing he’s asked.” Eustace patted her on the arm and turned to go report to the other elders.
She let out a long breath before heading to her own home. Maybe her initial impression of him was wrong. Maybe he was a kind and caring man. He had seemed genuinely worried about his men. Then again, he could just be rattled by that explosion. He had been rather close to it.
Kathryn nodded her head, accepting that as the answer. No caring man would ride into a town and demand one tenth of the village’s earnings. She clenched her jaw, setting her heart and mind against him. He was a tyrant, there to bend them to his will, not a handsome man who had just risked his life to protect her. The first she could handle; the second might endanger her heart.
“Are you sure you should head out in your condition?” Daniel asked, trying to change Patrick’s mind. “I could take the report to the prince.”
Pushing the bedding back, Patrick got up. He knew he shouldn’t travel after his encounter with the dragon, but he had a duty to see to. “I don’t need to shirk my responsibilities onto you.” His headache was much better now that he’d rested. As he prepared to leave, Patrick didn’t bother with his clothing draped over the foot of the bed. Christian and his grandmother would be in the kitchen, and the rest of the men understood. “I promised the prince an update when we confronted the dragon, and I will take it to him.”
“I don’t think he meant for you to fly if you were injured.”
Patrick looked down at his left arm. The skin was blistered from his fingers clear up to his elbow on the outer edge, and the rest of his arm was red.
“I didn’t realize you were hurt that badly. You’re lucky you didn’t shift.”
An ironic laugh slipped out of Patrick. “His fire was hotter than I expected, and that smoke pack had quite a punch.” He looked up at his friend. “But there was nothing to worry about. I don’t usually shift when injured.” He paused as the events of the day passed through his mind. “You did make sure to tell everyone to keep those things away from heat?”
“After watching yours go up, I think they got the idea.” The corner of Daniel’s mouth turned up. “I’ve heard a few of the men writing limericks about it already.”
Patrick hung his head. “Oh dear.” For as long as he had been training, the short rhymes had been the men’s way of immortalizing heroic acts of idiocy. It had been a point of pride that he could claim he’d managed to avoid the honor so far. “And what are they saying?” he asked, not really wanting to know.
“It’s not as bad as you think.” Daniel cleared his throat and recited the rhyme. “When faced with a dragon of black, Patrick took a gift from his sack. When faced with the flame, he calmly took aim, and thwarted the critter’s attack.”
“That’s not bad at all.” His first limerick, and it told of something good he’d done.
“That’s the best of the ones I heard.” Daniel grinned. “There were a few others that were more amusing, but they lacked the right cadence to be any good. Would you like me to recite them?”
Patrick shook his head. “No, I think that one is more than enough.” He looked towards the window. The light of day was waning. “Dusk is drawing near. I should get ready to head out.”
“Will you be able to find your way in the dark?”
Waving the older man’s worries away, Patrick reassured him. “I’ve made my way to the prince many times in the dark. I’ll make it just fine. It’s finding my way back here that might be the issue.” Patrick had gotten very used to night flights since the king had banned dragons from flying in the day around humans. It was easier to keep their presence secret if there weren’t dragon sightings all the time.
Daniel nodded.